General Where to get original 16" alloy

[tDR]

My 1.9 Dynamic came with the 16" 9-Spokes and my other half decided she'd put a dent in one in the last snowy spell by mounting a traffic island

Which means I need to source 1x as I'm not happy with the condition it's in after the local garage bent it back to shape as best they could and bead sealed a replacement tyre onto it. Where best to buy from or should I just go to Fiat? If so, are there any known dealers willing to supply with discount (trade or otherwise) and post parts out? Anyone know a rough cost for a single alloy from them?

Cheers,

Brian.

 

[Caravadossi]

Some FIAT dealers make them available on eBay - but I don't think any at present. There's a Saab dealer with 4 off @ £250 (or best offer) - 6.5Jx16 ET41 - if of interest.

 

[tDR]

Thanks Caravadossi - do you have a link? I need them to be the same such that I could use the Fiat centre caps and pass them off as the originals for insurance purposes. I was originally going to fit a new set of aftermarket wheels / tyres but tesco insurance wanted to double my excess and add £103 to the policy for the year for the privilege!!! :-O

 

[tDR]

Got a quote from the local Fiat dealer yesterday (Arnold Clark Broxburn) - a new replacement 16" alloy is £268 inc. VAT and they were prepared to give a 10% trade discount so £241 effectively.

Pretty steep for one piddly alloy!! Have submitted a salvage search enquiry with www.247spares.co.uk to try to find one cheaper but nothing back yet, it's looking like I'll have to bend over for the dealer...

 

[Caravadossi]

Thanks Caravadossi - do you have a link? ...

Location is Leicester. Saab P/No 12770236. 14spoke. Argued to have done only 100mls.

eBay listing: 160411529188

.

 

[tDR]

Those look a great buy but couldn't pass them off as Fiat original equipment for insurance purposes

 

[s130]

Those look a great buy but couldn't pass them off as Fiat original equipment for insurance purposes

I assume you are worried here about your insurer increasing your premium etc.

They should not. Your car came with 16" alloys. You are entitled to fit any 16 inch alloy of same size and compatible with tyre width. You should NOT get shafted, just speak to them.

In the past Fiat have done some daft deals on alloys and tyres. Seem to recall four alloys and tyres for £400 or less. There may even be dealers with stock of the past crazy deals.

Replacing a broken alloy for £200+ is (unless soembody else is paying) a decision point to fit 4 new after market alternative alloys and sell on your 3 remaing good ones.

Personally I would sell 2 on and keep the 3rd for myself to replace the space saver wheel.

 

[DoIDon'tI]

Out of interest, I had a set of these alloys fitted to my Croma a while back for 16,000 miles and they fit perfectly. Add a set of 60mm centres, buy some Fiat badges to fit (less than a tenner off ebay, usually) and I'd be very surprised if anyone could tell the difference. The wheels are made by JMC and are to the same spec and dimensions as the originals, and are also OE fit to another manufacturer, so they're not even 'aftermarket'.

The only downside is they take a little while to clean, but if you've got a brush then they're fine.

HTH.

 

[Caravadossi]

There appears to be a few Saab 120770236 sets available on eBay at present. Listings: 300369200120 & 300369270283 (both shown with Saab centre caps) - the latter gives the manufacturer as Ronal.

 

[tDR]

I assume you are worried here about your insurer increasing your premium etc.

They should not. Your car came with 16" alloys. You are entitled to fit any 16 inch alloy of same size and compatible with tyre width. You should NOT get shafted, just speak to them.

In the past Fiat have done some daft deals on alloys and tyres. Seem to recall four alloys and tyres for £400 or less. There may even be dealers with stock of the past crazy deals.

Replacing a broken alloy for £200+ is (unless soembody else is paying) a decision point to fit 4 new after market alternative alloys and sell on your 3 remaing good ones.

Personally I would sell 2 on and keep the 3rd for myself to replace the space saver wheel.

What about fitting 17" given some Cromas came with that size?

How far apart are these Fiat crazy deals normally? Could be just the ticket.

 

[s130]

Try Desira. Go Google AND phone them asking about their import parts operation.

They are a large main dealer AND have import parts business.

Go Google AND phone them asking about their import parts operation.

 

[Caravadossi]

What about fitting 17" given some Cromas came with that size?

I believe the normal pattern is Prestigio 18”, Eleganza 17” & Dynamic 16”. (Whatever - the spares are 16” space-saver). The *new* 16” Saab 12770236 (Ronal Alu 72?) on eBay look very attractive deals to me. There are plenty of 17” sets on offer – but can you find any within a FIAT/Saab/Vauxhall OE envelope … & the price level of the 16”? Have you challenged Tesco? Have you got long to run with them? I believe they just use any mid-term change as an opportunity to snatch further cash. What are other insurance providers views in these circumstances?

I’m on FIAT 50901455 7.5Jx18 ET41 with Conti 225/45R18 (with all fitting & alignment before my time @ 38K mls) now at 48K mls. Treadwear is more noticeable on outer edges, & I’ve increased pressure a tad to compensate – but plenty of flying hours left.

On-the-one-hand I wouldn’t want to mess with the given spec, but on-the-other-hand, a two step down from 18” to 16” would considerably widen tyre options - & the cost of a set of 16” rims would be recovered with the reduced cost of a set of tyres … plus I’d have the 18” to sell off.

 

[abssm]

Sorry to hijack your thread but can anyone point me in the direction of a new centre cap for my 17" alloys as one of mine has vanished.

Thanks in advance

 

[tDR]

Sorry to hijack your thread but can anyone point me in the direction of a new centre cap for my 17" alloys as one of mine has vanished.

Thanks in advance

Think you'll deffo be looking at Fiat for that as the OEM wheels for these cars are so rare and the center cap should be much cheaper than a complete new wheel or set of wheels as in my case.

 

[tDR]

Have you challenged Tesco? Have you got long to run with them? I believe they just use any mid-term change as an opportunity to snatch further cash. What are other insurance providers views in these circumstances?

Yep agree - all insurers seem to rape you when it comes to mid term changes. Unfortunately we have 11 months left to run with them and they were a chunk cheaper than the competition so stuck between a rock and a hard place! I've insured all sorts of modified cars in the past (including a drag spec Supra TT) and could always get cheap policies declaring the mods at the start of the insurance year.

I’m on FIAT 50901455 7.5Jx18 ET41 with Conti 225/45R18 (with all fitting & alignment before my time @ 38K mls) now at 48K mls. Treadwear is more noticeable on outer edges, & I’ve increased pressure a tad to compensate – but plenty of flying hours left.

On-the-one-hand I wouldn’t want to mess with the given spec, but on-the-other-hand, a two step down from 18” to 16” would considerably widen tyre options - & the cost of a set of 16” rims would be recovered with the reduced cost of a set of tyres … plus I’d have the 18” to sell off.

The 18's will always look the nicest but the Croma is about cheap family motoring for us especially given it's mainly driven by my other half and she has a tendency to have 'whoopsies' lol - my daily driver is an Alfa 159 Ti 2.4 JTDm which has 19" wheels standard and an unhealthy penchant for expensive rubber (£230 a tyre anyone?) getting through a set in 12k miles so one such car is more than enough!

I checked the pricing of tyres for each standard Croma size on www.camskill.co.uk and found the 17's are actually cheapest in my favoured rubber so am favouring a set of 17's to then argue the toss with the insurer. My favourite road tyres are Falken FK-452's but they're not the hardest wearing so will likely go for the Falken ZE-912's for the Croma which are harder wearing but sacrifice a little grip. They're also reviewed as being a very quiet tyre which appeals for Croma mile munching!

 

[Caravadossi]

I checked the pricing of tyres for each standard Croma size on www.camskill.co.uk and found the 17's are actually cheapest in my favoured rubber so am favouring a set of 17's to then argue the toss with the insurer. My favourite road tyres are Falken FK-452's but they're not the hardest wearing so will likely go for the Falken ZE-912's for the Croma ...

I won’t be replacing with premier league tyres. My preferred replacement in recent times has been Fulda (Goodyear-Dunlop Group) - but I don’t think they do the 225/45R18 95W spec.

I’ve also got the FK-452 (& Avon ZZ3) in the `possibles’ list at around £100ea for 225/45R18. But uncertain about Falken in general, & suspicious of the 912 – is it a re-badged 512? The 512 was criticised in tests some few years back, & seems to have been taken off the market. Also I think the FK-452 is a heavy tyre at 11.5kgs – but then all the alternatives to the Conti SportContact3 (10.45kgs) seem to be. But I won’t be spending £150+ or whatever they are now.

 

[tDR]

I’ve also got the FK-452 (& Avon ZZ3) in the `possibles’ list at around £100ea for 225/45R18.

The FK-452's are an excellent tyre IMO, better than Goodyear F1 GSD3's I also ran on the Supra for both wet and dry grip.

But uncertain about Falken in general, & suspicious of the 912 – is it a re-badged 512? The 512 was criticised in tests some few years back, & seems to have been taken off the market..

I think they're realistically priced top drawer tyres. The 512's came out many years ago, the 912's are the new model that replaced those.

 

[Radlet6]

I have Falkens on the front of mine - were on when I bought the car. They have worn well, 18k miles with plenty of tread, and seem to grip ok, but I now have problems with a wheel wobble which can't be cured by balancing. Have been told that it is the tyres that are at fault.

Have replaced rears with Goodyear Eagles which I have used on many cars now - I can't fault them as a good all round tyre which is reasonably priced.

 

[Radlet6]

I found this guy on ebay selling croma bodyparts from a totalled Croma. I don't know if he has any wheels though. Company is Discounted Alfaparts

0208 275 0630

 

[DoIDon'tI]

What's their ebay user ID, I'd like to have a look? On the subject of dead Cromas, I've heard about three in total - one dark grey, one blue and now this red one. No silver ones that I can buy the driver's rear door from though